headhuntersholosuitefandomcom-20200215-history
Bob Wilson
| aliases = Robert Wilson | continuity = Twilight Zone | image = | type = | race = | gender = | base of operations = | known relatives = Julia Wilson (wife) | status = | born = 1926 | died = | 1st appearance = "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" | actor = William Shatner }} was a fictional character featured in the Twilight Zone television franchise. Played by actor William Shatner, he first appeared in the 1963 season five episode of the original Twilight Zone television series, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". Biography Bob Wilson was a salesman who once suffered a nervous breakdown and spent some time in a mental health facility. Six months later, he took an airplane flight wherein he believed he spotted a gremlin on the wing of the plane. Every time someone else looked out the window however, the gremlin leaped out of view, so nobody believed Bob's seemingly outlandish claim. Wilson realized that his wife was starting to think he needed to go back to the sanitarium, but also, if nothing was done about the gremlin, it would damage the plane and cause it to crash. Bob stole a sleeping policeman's revolver, and opened the window marked "Auxiliary Exit" to shoot the gremlin. He succeeded despite the fact that he was nearly blown out of the plane himself. Once the plane had landed however, he was whisked away in a straitjacket and taken back to the hospital. Nobody at the scene took note of the unusual damage to the plane's engine nacelle, thus substantiating Wilson's story. Notes & Trivia * The character of was created by director Richard Donner and writer Richard Matheson. * This was William Shatner's second and arguably, most famous appearance in The Twilight Zone. He also played a character named Don Carter in the season two episode "Nick of Time". Shatner will eventually become more famously known for playing the role of James T. Kirk, captain of the starship [[USS Enterprise NCC-1701|USS Enterprise]] in the Star Trek television and film franchises. * "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" was remade as segment #4 in the 1983 film Twilight Zone: The Movie. The role of Bob Wilson was renamed John Valentine and was played by John Lithgow. A humorous jab at the character was made in the "Dick's Big Giant Headache (Part 1)" episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun, which starred John Lithgow as a series regular with a special guest appearance by William Shatner as The Big Giant Head. Lithgow's character met Shatner's character at the airport and asked him about his trip, to which the Big Giant Head replied, "Horrifying, at first. I looked out the window and... I saw something on the side of the plane." Lithgow's Dick Solomon reacted with shock saying, "The same thing happened to me!" * Writer Richard Matheson originally wanted to cast Patricia Breslin in the role of Bob's wife, Julia. Breslin played Pat Carter, the wife of Shatner's character from "Nick of Time". The role instead went to Christine White. See also External Links * * * "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" at Wikipedia * "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" at TV Rage.com References ---- Category:1926/Character births Category:Main characters Category:Living characters Category:Humans